‘People with serious psychological problems can hardly find help’ – Kassa

According to psychiatry professor Jim van Os, this concerns a growing group of patients who are not receiving appropriate care because they are ‘too complex or too crisis-sensitive’. “The justification for this is that people say: ‘Yes, but we are very specialised'”, says Van Os in Pointer. “But actually ‘specialist’ in mental health care has become another word for: ‘We only want to do simple things’.” –

Acceptatieplicht

Van Os also believes that there should be a system in which patients with the most serious complaints are treated first, because it can be life-threatening if they have to wait too long for care. It is now the case that patients who have several problems at the same time, such as an eating disorder or an addiction in combination with depression, often have nowhere to go for appropriate treatment.

He therefore advocates an acceptance obligation, so that these patients no longer fall between two stools. “The emergency room has an acceptance obligation to treat someone who comes in bleeding. I don’t see why it should be any different in mental health care.”

Bron: ANP, Pointer

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